• The Cognitive Abilities Test Fourth Edition (CAT4) assesses how well a student can think about tasks and solve problems using a range of different questions. Some tasks involve thinking about shapes and patterns (Non-verbal Reasoning), some with words (Verbal Reasoning) or numbers (Quantitative Reasoning) and, finally, some questions require thinking about shape and space together and imagining a shape being changed and moving (Spatial Ability).

Why use CAT4?

• CAT4 is used in many schools to provide information to teachers, students and parents that, with other information such as results from Key Stage 2 tests, forms the basis for discussion about how best an individual can learn and reach his or her potential in school.
• CAT4 does not require any prior knowledge and you cannot ‘learn’ how to answer the questions in CAT4. It is therefore a good test because everyone starts at the same place.
• The abilities tested in CAT4, such as spatial ability, may be difficult to demonstrate in the classroom so it is important that teachers know the level of a student’s ability in such areas.
• CAT4 contributes to setting targets (for example, levels expected at the end of the next Key Stage or grades at GCSE) and allows an individual’s progress to be monitored.
• CAT4 results will help your teachers decide about the pace of learning that is right for an individual and whether additional support or challenge is needed.
• CAT4, unlike an English or Math test, is not a test of what the student has learned. It tests how an individual can think in areas that are known to make a difference to learning and achievement.

What's in CAT4?

CAT4 comprises the following batteries (sections) which assess different aspects of ability: